


Syndicated Crimes Division

by Kakushigo



Series: Between Gods, Kings, and Ghosts (And the Men Who Love Them) [1]
Category: S.C.I.谜案集 | S.C.I. Mystery (TV), 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
Genre: (but they're both also still lovable professors), A family that murders together stays together, Bai Yutong and Zhao Yunlan are co-chiefs of their own section of the police, Dark!Shen Wei, Dark!Zhan Yao, Gen, M/M, Mafia AU, Nothing could go wrong, Ye Zun is still Ye Zun (and we love him), Yunlan is A Chaotic Bi, they're about to fall in love with some mafia members
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22537942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kakushigo/pseuds/Kakushigo
Summary: Bai Yutong and Zhao Yunlan are the youngest division chiefs in the history of the Hong Kong Police.  They have shut down organized crime from Kowloon to the New Territories- there's only a few hold outs.  Zhuyin has been a thorn in their side since they took over the SCD, but a new case might indirectly lead them to the greatest breakthrough in identifying Zhuyin leadership.Zhan Yao took over Zhuyin after his father, Zhao Jue, wanted to retire to focus on painting.  Beside him are his younger twin brothers, Shen Wei and Ye Zun, acting as the masked Black and White Robed Envoys.  Together, they'll evade the police, take care of each other, and kill anyone who gets in their way.
Relationships: Bai Yutong & Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Ye Zun & Shen Wei & Zhan Yao, Yè Zūn/Zhú Jiǔ, Zhan Yao/Bai Yutong, Zhǎn Qítián/Zhào Jué
Series: Between Gods, Kings, and Ghosts (And the Men Who Love Them) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1614817
Comments: 31
Kudos: 67





	1. The Police's White Tiger & Ghostly Gun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [redwolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/redwolf/gifts).



> This AU has eaten by brain. It all started while I was watching SCI and saw the Parking Lot Scene and went... "Are Zhan Qitian & Zhao Jue exes?" and that spiraled into "They don't break up and raise Zhan Yao together." which spiraled into "Zhan Yao wants to be an older brother. Shen Wei & Ye Zun are adopted into the family." Look, it was a whole production/descent into insanity.
> 
> And it's pretty obvious to see who I have to ~~blame~~ thank for encouraging me to write this.

The call rouses Bai Yutong from a dead sleep, but he’s awake in an instant, alert and answering questions. It’s a good thing that Zhao Yunlan crashed on the couch last night and Da Qing is curled up, in cat form, on his chest because the SCD has just had another case handed to them. Bai Yutong gets out of bed, throws on his suit, and wanders into the living room. He sees Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing curled up on the couch together and grabs the blanket Zhao Yunlan had purloined for his slumber and pulls it off him, not pausing in his beeline for the kitchen.

The removal of the blanket causes Da Qing to hiss and lash out with his claws, waking Zhao Yunlan with a yelp. Zhao Yunlan gropes for his phone in a haze of sleepiness and pain, groaning when he sees it’s only three hours after midnight.

“Bai, what the fuck?” Zhao Yunlan grouses as Da Qing mopes on the carpeted floor. 

“We’ve caught another dead one,” Bai Yutong answers, already started with prepping eggs to add to the rice for their first meal of the day. “Hope you got enough sleep last night.” It’s a dig at the both of them, having passed out after closing their last case barely an hour earlier.

Zhao Yunlan blinks sleepily at Bai Yutong, then sighs. “I’m going to kill someone.” Yutong agrees with the sentiment, both of them are running heavily on empty, unlike their esteemed deputy chief who is currently napping on Yunlan’s shoulders. “The details?”

“Our favorite- gutted by a sword.” Bai Yutong replies lightly, whipping the eggs. 

Zhao Yunlan swears again, leaning back on the couch. “One day, we’ll catch the Ghosts and their Angel and it’ll be the happiest day of my life.” He rubs the bridge of his nose. “I don’t suppose there’s coffee?” He’s already unwrapping a lollipop to help with the urge to smoke, if he’s also supposed to get through this without coffee, he may riot.

“You know where it is.” Bai Yutong doesn’t even look up from cooking and Zhao Yunlan supposes he has a point. He doesn’t really want to move though. He stands up anyways, wincing as his back pops and hobbles over to join Bai Yutong in the kitchen. It’s a longstanding rule that Zhao Yunlan is expressly forbidden from helping out in the kitchen, but he’s allowed to use the coffee maker. Mostly because the thing is mostly automated and just needs Zhao Yunlan to turn it on. He pulls two mugs out of the cabinet, pets Da Qing’s head, and gets ready for a long, thankless grind of a crime scene made by the one of the Envoys with no clues, no leads, and so much paperwork. 

“Where we headed? And are you driving?” Zhao Yunlan’s bike is parked next to Bai Yutong’s car, but he’s really in no place to drive it. At worst, he’ll have to drive the Jeep in tomorrow and pick up his bike the next time he inevitable crashes at his co-Chief’s house because it happens to be closer to the precinct. 

“Outer limits and yes.” Bai Yutong’s answers come with rice, egg, and onion mixed together. It’s heavenly- or Zhao Yunlan thinks it would be if he had enough time to savor it. Da Qing happily helps himself to his own bowl, especially prepared by Bai Yutong. “Ready?” At Bai Yutong’s question, Zhao Yunlan hands him his own coffee and nods. He’s really not, but the life of a cop waits for no man.

The crime scene is just as neat as any other scene done by the Ghosts. The body is gutted and there’s no head trauma. A point in favor of Black Robed Envoy, or the Ghost Killer as some call him, rather then White Robed Envoy. Something doesn’t feel right to Zhao Yunlan though and he looks over to Bai Yutong and they share a nod. The dead man isn’t anyone important, certainly not someone the Angel would deign to have his personal left and right hand eliminate. And the sword wound looks wrong. 

“Call Lin Jing,” Zhao Yunlan orders, pulling the lollipop out of his mouth. “See if there’s any dark energy. If there’s not, I saw we call it a copy cat and a night. We can deal with a copy cat at a more reasonable hour.” Bai Yutong nods and makes the call. A grumpy Lin Jing eventually appears, clutching his dark energy detector and muttering about early morning wake ups. He shuts up as soon as he sees Bai Yutong, Zhao Yunlan, and Da Qing around the body- he got to go home early last night after all. 

Jin Ling flutters around the body, brandishing his personal dark energy detector and after several minutes affirmatively declares. “No dark energy.”

“Thank fuck,” Zhao Yunlan mutters. “Great. The scene techs will log all this and we’ll deal with it...later today. Make sure Gongsun Zhe gets the body processes and M.E. report on Bai Sir’s desk by-” he looks over at Bai Yutong, who has a glassy look on his face. No help from that quarter. “In twelve hours.” There, Gongsun won’t even had to be woken up at an abysmal hour like everyone else.

Lin Jing looks at the corpse staring lifelessly at the stars. “We’re not calling anyone else in?”

“It’s not Zhuyin.” Yutong answers, finally moved from whatever had distracted him. “And if it’s not Zhuyin, it’s not either of the Ghosts on a mission from their Angel.”

Lin Jing looks at the corpse and shrugs. “It looks a lot like one of the Ghosts ripped him apart, but whatever you say.” Bai Yutong rolls his eyes but shoos Lin Jing back to the cab. 

“Back to the office?” He asks Zhao Yunlan. They’re both restless when it comes to cases, even if it’s not a possible break on the only syndicate the SCD hasn’t cracked open like a walnut. Zhao Yunlan nods, dipping his lollipop into his coffee cup and making Bai Yutong shudder in disgust.

The SCD officers are quite nice, even at an unholy hour of the morning. Everything in them is state of the art, since the SCD’s is the Hong Kong Police Department’s current baby- helped by the fact Yutong and Yunlan are both part of a long and proud tradition of being a cop. The main office’s primary feature is the long mahogany table that dominates the center of the room. Off to both sides are the desks of everyone but Bai Yutong, Zhao Yunlan, Da Qing, and Gongson Zhe. All of them get different offices, or in Gongson’s case, they get to share the mortuary with the rest of the precinct. 

The wall between Yutong and Yunlan’s offices has long been converted into a swinging pinboard containing every scrap of information about the criminal organization known as Zhuyin, which isn’t nearly as much as either of them would like it to be. The pinboard is the exhaustive work of two years from both of them. They’ve definitely proven that only low-level members of Zhuyin get the infamous Lantern Dragon tattooed on their bodies. They know that the current leader, whose street name is The Angel displaced the former leader who had been known as the Hypnotist sometime in the last couple of months. They know the takeover wasn’t aggressive and the leadership transition was pretty much seamless. The Hypnotist's right hand was still active in Zhuyin, appearing every once in a while to put a bullet in someone who inevitably drew Zhuyin’s ire. 

But then there were the Ghosts. They were the Angel’s left and right hands interchangeably. One wore white and bore the names of Ghost and White Robed Envoy, depending on if you were friend or enemy of Zhuyin. His opposite was the one in black sometimes called Ghost Killer and sometimes called Black Robed Envoy. The two biggest breaks in the Zhuyin case had only happened recently. Shortly after Zhao Yunlan had stopped smoking, he’d spiraled down the rabbit hole of the Ghosts and emerged nearly 72 hours later with definitive proof that the Ghost and the Ghost Killer were separate entities. He was also single handedly responsible for the two blurry photos, one of each Envoy, adorning the pinboard. 

The other break wasn’t directly the fault of either Bai Yutong or Zhao Yunlan. One of the members of the SCD, Chu Shuzhi, wasn’t just a cop. His other life was that of the Puppet Master, a high ranking member of Zhuyin. He had obviously been implanted to spy on the SCD which meant both chiefs of the SCD tried to keep him as uninvolved with the actual case around Zhuyin while tapping him for information about the criminal underground of Hong Kong. They hadn’t had any luck at all until Guo Changcheng had joined the team a couple of months ago and Chu had suddenly gotten very invested in the young boy. Which was honestly good for everyone, since Little Guo, as he was affectionately referred to, was an absolute mess but very, very goodhearted and honest. Little Guo was also very curious and Old Chu would answer absolutely any question he had.

It was around this pinboard that Zhao Yunlan and Bai Yutong congregated today. They had unanimously chosen to flip it to face Bai Yutong’s office and lounge there because the detritus of Zhao Yunlan’s office drove Bai Yutong crazy and today was not a day Bai Yutong wanted to deal with...all that. Zhao Yunlan had abandoned his lollipop to nibble on the end of a pen, obviously unaware of his habit. But every slight creak of the chair underneath him as he shifted in the seat was driving Bai Yutong mad. Lack of sleep wasn’t helping his temper, nor the dead end nature of the copycat case. Someone wanted to frame Zhuyin, but you could throw a dart at a list of other enterprising criminal groups in Hong Kong and hit half a dozen of them wanting to undermine the biggest fish in the koi pond.

The chair creaked again and Bai Yutong glared. “Stop it, Zhao. You’ll wake the dead.”

Zhao Yunlan snorted, but obligingly folded up his legs underneath himself, so he wouldn’t rock the seat. He was _still_ eating the pen though. Even Da Qing wasn’t as bad as Zhao Yunlan. “The dead are already awake, Bai.” It was true, most of the non-officer crew working in the office right now were ghosts for all that they looked alive. Wang Zheng, who’d woken them up this morning, was one of them.

“Not the point and you know it.” Bai Yutong grumbled as he leaned back in his own chair, squeezing his eyes shut. Thankfully, the lights were down low all throughout the precinct, so closing his eyes pulled him into a darkness deep enough to actually help the headache brewing in his temples. “I don’t think we can figure this out tonight.” He hated to admit it, but as much as there was an itch under his skin to solve it, his thoughts were skittering away from him like marbles on ice. “Certainly not before the ME report. We know it wasn’t the Ghosts”

Zhao Yunlan sighed, weighing their options. “And there’s no way either of us will be able to sleep before then. What else do we have, then?”

Bai Yutong grimly opened his eyes again, digging around in his desk. The issue was, since the SCD only dealt with syndicated crimes, most cases went through other departments first- sometimes all that was left by the time the SCD got the case was to file the bodies. Paperwork would not help a headache. “If you don’t want paperwork, we’ve got an interview and forensic data mining.”

“I’m pretty sure forensic data mining is a more boring form of paper work and also why we hired Lin Jing and Jiang Ling.” Yunlan replied. “So that means interview but considering most people aren’t up at,” he slid his phone out of his pocket and turned on the screen, “4:32 in the morning, we’ll have to wait on that.” 

They considered this, then shared a look. “Coffee.” They agreed together. 

Not far from the station was a hole in the wall coffee shop that Zhao Yunlan had introduce Bai Yutong to. Zhao Yunlan had slept with both proprietors before they’d gotten together and was indirectly responsible for them meeting- one of those stories Bai Yutong wouldn’t believe if he hadn’t heard if from all three sources. The ladies were celebrating their 5th anniversary together soon and Bai Yutong knew Zhao Yunlan had prepared something sufficiently lavish for the closest thing he had to friends that he didn’t directly work with. Not that Bai Yutong was throwing stones, considering the one man he’d dated had been a cop (until Bai Yutong had to arrest him for money laundering and criminal conspiracy).

The shop catered largely to night owls, having increasingly bizarre hours that Bai Yutong wasn’t sure how they managed to stay open except that Zhao Yunlan always knew when they were open and swore by their coffee. It was delicious and today, it was where they got their coffee. Neither lady had to ask for their order, Zhao Yunlan just swiped his card and they settled down in a corner table.

Shortly after sitting down, and unwrapping another lollipop, Zhao Yunlan held his hand out to Bai Yutong. “You downloaded the crime scene photos to your phone, didn’t you?” He asked. Bai Yutong didn’t answer, just handed over his unlocked phone for Zhao Yunlan to scroll through. It was then up to Bai Yutong to thank Zhang Biyu for the coffees and day old pastries she’d thrown in for free because they were a day old. “What,” Yunlan asked Bai Yutong after staring at his phone for a while, “is one of the main signs a killing is done by our lovely Ghost Killer?”

Bai Yutong pressed the newly made coffee into his hand and considered. “Done by a sword. No head contusions. While limbs may be removed, they’re never destroyed.” Those were the biggest ones he could think of.

And one of them was apparently what Zhao Yunlan was looking for, because he nodded, leaning back over and showing Bai Yutong the picture he was looking at. It was of the victim’s chest, flayed open and presenting his organs. “I can’t be sure,” Zhao Yunlan admitted quietly, “but I think some of the skin is missing.” Bai Yutong’s eyes flickered from the picture to Zhao Yunlan’s face and then down again. He considered the picture sincerely, trying to picture the piecemeal skin back on the cadaver.

“You’re onto something,” Bai Yutong admitted with a nod. “It looks like they removed some skin from right under the pectorals- but they butchered the body badly enough it wouldn’t be obvious. What were they trying to hide?” Some kind of body decoration- likely a tattoo, though it could also be something semi-permanent. Most gangs marked their members with tattoos, but if someone wanted to try and incite a war with Zhuyin, why make it look like a Ghost Killing but remove the gang symbol? “Gongsun might be able to tell us- tattoos tend to leave trace marks deeper than the skin tissue.”

Zhao Yunlan nodded, taking a sip of his coffee and sighing in relief as caffeine burned through him. “Great. Now is an excellent time to troll through recent violent killings and see if any of them are missing tattoos as well.”

That would just piss off everyone in Violent Crimes. Ah, well, Bai Yutong hadn’t become one of the youngest section-chiefs (tied with Zhao Yunlan) by getting along with everyone. “Only ‘til 8, then we should head to Dragon University and talk with the head of Tang Zhi Construction, they’re doing renovations in the genetics wing, so he should be on site by then.” Yunlan nods, acquiescing to Bai Yutong’s request. That’d give them plenty of time. 

* * *

It would be nearly impossible for anyone to miss the two people on Zhan Yao’s couch. One of them was indecently sprawled out across most of the couch while his twin maintained a stiff composure in the corner. These were his adopted brothers: Ye Zun and Shen Wei. They also happened to be known as the Ghost and the Ghost Killer on the street. To the untrained eye, they would look perfectly well rested.

Zhan Yao was not an untrained eye though. “Long night?” He asked them both, moving Ye Zun’s legs to settle in between them.

Ye Zun flips him off even as he cuddles up. “Lao Chu called us at 3 am. Your pet detectives caught themselves a suspected Ghost killing.”

Zhan Yao smiles, shaking his head as he lets his brother rest against him. “And I happen to know I didn’t send either of you out because _someone_ had a date with Zhu Jiu.” Ye Zan blushed at the reminded. “So, who is pretending to be you two?” And the unasked question: Did Zhan Yao have to worry about them?

Shen Wei leans forwards, pouring tea for both of them. “We’re working on it. Detective Zhao already has some ideas that Lao Chu has informed us of.”

Zhan Yao sighed, annoyed by how efficient these new cops were. “Of course the SCD has more of a clue than us. What are we looking at?” He looked at Ye Zun, the youngest of them had a way of procuring police pictures he wasn’t going to think too hard about. Surprisingly, though, Ye Zun simply shrugged.

“Low level Zhuyin member pissed someone off and got themselves killed. White Robe,” Shen Wei inclined his head to Ye Zun even as he handed his brother the teacup, “already confirmed it wasn’t internal strife that got him killed.”

“So,” Zhan Yao summarized, “someone killed one of our own and made it look like an Envoy killing. They’re attempting to sow distrust and dissatisfaction among our ranks.” The twins exchanged a look over Zhan Yao’s head then nodded. “Very well, we’ll just have to ensure it doesn’t work.” With that, he settles into his place between his brothers and sips his tea. “And remember, tonight is a family dinner.”

“How can I forget?” Ye Zun complained, draping himself over Zhan Yao’s shoulders. “I’m not sure my dear A-Jiu has recovered from the last time you two dragged him in front of the firing squad.” Shen Wei hands Ye Zun his own tea cup, but Zhan Yao doesn’t protest as Ye Zun switches their cups. As the baby of the three of them (by only three minutes, according to the twin’s forged birth certificates) Ye Zun gets away with just about everything he wants. Switching tea cups doesn’t even rank as something worth blinking about. 

Shen Wei leans back with his own cup. “Zhu Jiu has worked with Zhuyin for years, he should be well acclimated to our fathers’ eccentricities.”

Ye Zun scoffs, pouting just a bit. “Gege, don’t be mean! There’s a difference between working for Zhuyin and having to sit across the table from baba and diedie. Baba threatened to hypnotize him last time.”

Zhan Yao hides his smile in his teacup- he remembers the incident in question and well, Zhu Jiu had shown up without an invitation from baba. Which had kinda been Ye Zun’s fault, but who could blame Ye Zun? Especially when there was an outsider right there.

“Perhaps,” Shen Wei suggests calmly, “it will go better this time.” He pulls out his pocket watch, clicking it open and frowns ever so slightly. “Zhan Yao, my first class starts in half an hour. Will you be coming with me or have Ye Zun drop you off later?”

Zhan Yao considers his brand new cup of tea, courtesy of Ye Zun, and waves Shen Wei off. “I’ll have Ye Zun drop me off in my office later. Make sure no curious students take a peak, will you?” Shen Wei inclines his head slightly, opens a portal to the kitchen to clean out his tea cup, and then portals right to his office to get a head start on his day. He keeps the blinds down for now- his office faces the sunrise which means he does get an excellent view but opening the blinds shows students and faculty alike that he’s in and Shen Wei isn’t in a mood to entertain people quite yet. His lesson plans are done in immaculate calligraphy and he takes a second to study them. The semester has just started, but Shen Wei teaches only high level genetic lectures, so there’s no need to ease students back into the school year.

With only ten minutes until his class is due to begin, he pulls up his blinds and walks out into the hallway where Li Qian is waiting. She gives him a slight bow and walks with him to his classroom. While Shen Wei is actually perfectly adept at working with modern technology, he has cultivated a guise of ineptitude with it, leading to people like Li Qian being necessary to run his powerpoints. It is easier, he has found, then telling people time and time again that he does not have a cell phone. Everyone now understands that Professor Shen does not have a cell phone and rarely checks his email, so the best way to actually ask him a question is to come to his office hours. It has greatly decreases irrelevant conversations.

(Shen Wei does own a cell phone. There’s only five people who have the number for it- his fathers, his brothers, and Lao Chu. It is currently tucked in the secret pocket in his suit jacket and he’s very familiar with how to use it.)

Shen Wei smiles at his class, most of whom are rather bleary eyed and clutching various caffeinated drinks in a bid to stay awake. Some of them perk up and others will take five to ten minutes of lecturing to do so. Li Qian settles at the computer in the back of the room, pulling out a USB drive with today’s lecture notes on it and Shen Wei begins talking, occasionally drifting back to the chalkboard to clarify a point or two. Morning lectures are, as a general rule, very peaceful. Today is no exception. 

When he’s done, students come up for last minute questions or filter out to get on with the rest of their day. Shen Wei gives those who stay behind a fond smile, sitting down behind the desk- no one else will use this classroom for a while and he can indulge his students their curiosity for things still under his realm of expertise beyond what is covered in class. These impromptu office hours tend to help students grasp the innate theories behind genetics better than just straight out explaining them. A slight vibration from his inner pocket has him bowing his head and making his excuses to the students as he slipped back to his office and turned down the blinds. 

He pulled out his phone, wondering who needed him early in the morning. It was from Lao Chu and simply reads, “SCD investigating school, steer clear.”

Too late for that. The phone went back to its pocket as Shen Wei gave a small sigh. Last night’s little adventure hadn’t been him or Ye Zun, so whatever the SCD was here for wasn’t him. That didn’t make him feel any better about them being around, but the chances of running into them were slim enough, especially if he stayed between his office and classes.

A knock at the door and a soft voice Shen Wei knew well called out, “Professor Shen?”

“You can come in, Li Qian,” Shen Wei assured her. “Is everything alright?”

The door opened up only enough for her to stick her head in. “Sort of. Professor Zhan just called me so I could tell you he’ll be in late and to ask if you can cover his first set of office hours?” Shen Wei glanced at the landline in his office and saw the line blinking- his brother must’ve left a message. Professor Shen wouldn’t know that though. 

“He should’ve called me in my office.” Shen Wei replies quietly. “Thank you, Li Qian. I’d be happy to cover them.” While psychology wasn’t his specialty, he knew enough to cover his brother’s office hours. “Is there anything else?”

“That’s all, Professor Shen.” She answered, ducking her head. “Is it okay if I go home now?”

“Of course. Thank you for helping out this morning.” He pulls out his wallet and pulls out a few hundred yuan. “Here, as thanks for coming in on your day off. And fielding Professor Zhan.”

She blushes lightly, letting the door open the full way as she steps in. “Thank you, Professor Shen.”

He waves off the thanks. “You’ve been a great help, Li Qian. If you need to take off more time to spend with your grandmother, just let me know. I know I’ve been calling on you for a lot recently, but I can always train another student.”

Li Qian laughs. “I’ll let you know, professor. But perhaps I should train the other student.” He blinks and she shakes his head. “Trust me, professor, you’re a genius but can you actually train someone else to run a powerpoint?” He opens his mouth, then shakes his head, happy to let Li Qian have this victory. She needs a few of them. 

“Now, didn’t you say you were going home?” He asked, taking his own steps towards the door, grabbing his briefcase. 

She nods happily. “Yes, Professor Shen. Have a good day.”

“You too, Li Qian.” They leave the office and Shen Wei locks it, then they go their separate ways.


	2. Brothers Three and the Halls of Psychology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting lost in the Psychology Building wasn't the plan, but that's what happens when you work with cats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ye Zun was *checks notes* not supposed to appear in this chapter but let it be said, he never follows the plans. So everyone has officially met and Bai Yutong would really like a stiff drink. 
> 
> We were supposed to get Bai & Zhan Yao getting their nicknames this chapter, but only Zhan Yao managed to get his out. XD

There are reasons that Zhao Yunlan normally takes his own transportation when they do anything on official police business. Yes, a motorcycle might be a death trap but at least it would be death by his own hands than Bai Yutong’s madness. Bai Yutong drove like the devil himself was at his heels, whether or not there was any pressing need for speed. In his words: he had a supercar, why not use it like a supercar? 

Da Qing agreed with Zhao Yunlan on this, but that didn’t spare them the ride to Dragon University. The miserable Da Qing had shifted into his cat form and balled himself up under Zhao Yunlan’s leather jacket and Zhao Yunlan felt for him, truly. Which is the only reason he doesn’t yell a lot when Da Qing got tired of being carried, launched himself out of Zhao Yunlan’s arms, and ran into the nearest building. Not, Zhao Yunlan noted looking up at the clear characters above the building’s entrance, the biology building. It was Huang Chen’s Hall of Psychology. Bai Yutong and Zhao Yunlan shared long suffering looks as they entered the building after the cat. Despite how fat Da Qing was in this form, he was long gone from the entrance hall. To the left were offices, each of them labeled and Zhao Yunlan blinked, then looked again. The numbers didn’t change. The first office was number 721 and the second one was number 444. He’d never gone to a traditional college, opting instead to enter right into the police academy, but he knew that wasn’t right.

“Bai Yutong?” Zhao Yunlan asked, turning to face his co-chief only to blink at the empty hall. “Bai Yutong!” He repeated, raising his voice. No answer. Where had the damn cat and Bai Yutong disappeared to? He walks down the hallway, footsteps echoing on the linoleum tiles and very quickly becomes lost. There appears to be no logical pattern to any of the hallways and he has ended up on floor 1.5 no less than three times. That’s not to mention the one door that just opens up to nowhere. Obviously, some madman designed this building and Zhao Yunlan would probably be doing the world a favor if he arrested the architect now. 

Zhao Yunlan becomes distracted from his quest to find the damn cat and Bai Yutong by the most beautiful man he's ever seen. The man is so gorgeous that it takes a second for Zhao Yunlan to look him over and spot the whole reason he and Bai Yutong even entered this hellish building- Da Qing is curled up in the man's arms, purring up a storm. Spoiled fucking cat, making Zhao Yunlan worry when he’s just found a hot guy willing to pet him. (Though if Zhao Yunlan could also shift into a cat, he wouldn’t mind a heavy petting session from the guy in the immaculate suit either.)

He takes a second to make sure he looks less like he's been running around a building that seems to spawn dead ends around every corner before approaching. Best not to scare the cute guy away. As he draws closer, he can clearly see the man is standing in front of a door for _Dr. Zhan Yao, Psychology_ and can't help but wonder if this is Dr. Zhan because if so...Zhao Yunlan was really missing out when he skipped college. He could've had a hot professor. Life isn't fair.

He clears his throat gently and gets rewarded with an absolutely flustered look on the man's face. The blush was adorable, especially combined with the glasses the professor was sporting. Zhao Yunlan couldn't say he'd had a thing for glasses before, but he was willing to reconsider. "Zhao Yunlan," he introduced himself, "and that's my cat. Sorry if the black fatty was bothering you." He offers his hand, hoping the professor will put down the cat and shake it.

No such luck though, as the guy blinks at Zhao Yunlan’s hand then smiles at him. And oh, if the look of confusion was adorable then this smile makes his knees weak. “Professor Shen Wei,” the man replies. So not Dr. Zhan, but still a hot teacher. Seriously, if someone had told him there could be professors as hot as Shen Wei, Zhao Yunlan might not be a cop right now. And judging by the sheer volume of Da Qing’s purrs, the man had other talents as well. “And he’s not bothering me. I believe he smelled my brother’s fish snacks, though thankfully I caught him before he made off with gege’s treats.”

All of this was over _food_? Cat Yashou were going to be the death of Zhao Yunlan. “You aren’t injured, are you?” Zhao Yunlan asked, casually invading the professor’s personal space, looking for injuries. Shen Wei didn’t seem to mind at all.

“No.” Shen Wei assured him with another smile. "Your cat is very well behaved. Didn't claw me once."

Zhao Yunlan can't believe Shen Wei is talking about Da Qing. If it wasn't for the bells around Da Qing's neck, Zhao Yunlan would assume this was the wrong fat cat. "He's not usually so well behaved." Zhao Yunlan mutters quietly, glaring at Da Qing who just looks cute and mews quietly. Zhao Yunlan, realizing his hand wasn't going to be shaken, used it to pet Da Qing. "But thank you for catching him. Now I just have to locate Bai."

Shen Wei winces. "You have a friend around?"

Zhao Yunlan nodded. "We both came in after Da Qing bolted. We lost each other right at the door though."

Shen Wei nodded. "That's not uncommon. The psychology building is notoriously difficult to navigate. The psychology professors call it the rat maze."

Oh, shit. Zhao Yunlan is going to have to rescue Bai from a university building. And then escape. This sounded like the beginning of a horror movie. Maybe the hot professors weren't worth it. Zhao Yunlan looked up at Shen Wei again - his beautiful eyes, gentle smile, adorable glasses, and well pressed suit- yeah, he'd brave the Rat Maze daily for Shen Wei. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to help me?" Yunlan asked, whining gently and overdramatically fluttering his eyelashes.

Shen Wei smiles again and Yunlan is so damn fucked and not literally, unfortunately. "It'll be safer to wait for him here and then I can guide you both out. Here," he turns around and Zhao Yunlan's eyes go right down to his ass, “you can come and sit for a while.” Zhao Yunlan nearly misses the invitation due to the scenery, but manages to look up and smile just in time. 

The office Zhao Yunlan steps into is very tidy. Shen Wei’s older brother (Zhan Yao, Yunlan recalls the plaque saying and it’s odd that they have two different family names, but maybe one took their mother’s name) must be a neat freak to rival Bai and that’s quite an achievement. There’s two whole walls of books- a quick glance reveals they’re in Chinese, English, and something that that uses Latin characters but if it’s English, it’s English Zhao Yunlan isn’t familiar with. The desk is a gorgeous mahogany with a full set of calligraphy brushes (which Zhao Yunlan would bet his week’s takeout budget they weren’t often used), two picture frames facing away from where, presumably, students sit. Zhao Yunlan happily settles into one of the chairs while Shen Wei settles behind the desk with Da Qing. Da Qing even gets a little head kiss. 

Never in Yunlan’s life has he wished to be an actual cat Yashou rather than an honorary member of a cat tribe via Da Qing.

The only other thing of interest in the office (besides the very hot Professor Shen) are the paintings on the wall behind the desk. There were three of them- a spring, summer, and fall painting, each with a swordsman in white in the background. The spring swordsman has wings, the summer swordsman has frost falling from their blade, and the fall swordsman has ghosts around them.

Shen Wei notices the look and turns the chair around to follow his gaze. “You like the paintings? Our baba did them. It’s a set of nine.”

Four seasons doesn’t exactly fold into nine nicely. Three did though, if three people had a set of three. Shen Wei and their father, presumably. “A set of nine?”

Shen Wei nods, letting Da Qing’s purrs filling the room. “Three for Yao-gege, three for me, three for Zun-didi. Gege is the only one who displays them, though. Baba’s work is worth more than my entire apartment. Not enough light to properly display them at home or my office.” He has a gentle smile on his face and Zhao Yunlan is so glad Bai Yutong isn’t here to tease him mercilessly about his crush. Da Qing is going to squeal though. He’s loyal to whoever holds the fish snacks.

* * *

Bai Yutong is wondering if he’s in some kind of dream. None of the room numbers make any sense, the floor numbers make even less sense, and he’s walked up a set of stairs that’d ended in an interior balcony with no exit. It’s the screaming that draws his attention. It’s not bad screaming, but excited shouting of “Professor Zhan!” that he would be deaf not to hear. He somehow ends up back at the entrance hall and stares in surprise. The first floor and parts of the second floor are packed with students. He was jostled as even more students were attracted to the sheer noise and started joining in. It wasn’t hard to spot who they were screaming for either. Two men had just entered the building- one in a stark black suit and scarf and the other in a bleached jean jacket, floral neck wrap, and shades who was waving at the students who were straight up ignoring him, marking the man in black as Professor Zhan. 

Neither of them were ugly, but Bai Yutong personally thought the black suit was much more flattering. Professor Zhan was saying something quietly to the students closest to him, but bleached jean jacket whipped off his glasses and raised his voices, “Okay, everyone, you’ll see my brother in class! Now scram!” And just as quickly as the students had appeared, they disappeared. Some went into classrooms, others vanished into stairwells, and once again the entrance hall was eerily empty. “And that,” bleached jean jacket said to Professor Zhan, “is how you get rid of your fan club, gege.”

“Thank you, didi.” Professor Zhan returned, sounding bemused. “But I think you missed one.” 

And now they’re both looking at Bai Yutong. Bleached jean jacket cocks his head and looks Bai up and down. Because of the early wake-up call, Bai Yutong is wearing a white suit, but he’s forgone the tie and he’s pretty sure he’s being judged for it by a guy in a bleached jean jacket. “He’s pretty enough, gege,” bleached jean jacket comments, “but you can definitely do better. Hey, you, do you think my gege is pretty?” Professor Zhan gives his younger brother an annoyed look Bai Yutong recognizes all too well from his own elder sibling.

But Bai Yutong didn’t just tell strangers that they were handsome enough for the gods to weep. He wasn’t Zhao Yunlan. So he just shrugged, causing bleached jean jacket to shake his head while Professor Zhan smiled. 

“Don’t mind Ye Zun,” Professor Zhan says. “He likes to tease.”

“It’s fine,” Bai Yutong assures him, ignoring Professor Zhan’s brother fake gagging over something. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen a fat black cat or harried looking guy in a leather jacket and fingerless gloves?”

Ye Zun laughs. “Oh, man! Did you lose your cat and your boyfriend? You know collars and leashes help with that.”

He’s almost as bad as Zhao Yunlan. “Police partner, thankfully. And the cat is...a police cat.” There’s really no easy way to explain that he’s the Deputy Chief without sounding insane. Dixingren and Yashou are so rare that most people can go their whole life without meeting one.

“Helping hapless dressers finds lost pets sounds like something for you to do,” Ye Zun tells Professor Zhan. “Just remember to use protection, gege.” And with a wink to his brother, the man is off. Bai Yutong is just going to take a page from dealing with Zhao Yunlan and ignore most of that. It’s better for his sanity and professionalism if he doesn’t think of Professor Zhan as anything more than an acquaintance. 

Professor Zhan looks bemused in a way that implies his younger brother is just insane, which makes Bai Yutong feel a little better about comparing him to Zhao Yunlan. “Come along,” Professor Zhan says, “if your partner and cat have gotten lost in here, we won’t find them standing in the entranceway. The Rat Maze tends to be very confusing to people new to the building.” And he strides off, forcing Bai Yutong to follow him to avoid ending up lost again.

“You call it the Rat Maze?” Bai Yutong asks as he falls into step with the professor. “Is it purposefully designed to confuse?”

Professor Zhan looks over at Bai Yutong and he suddenly feels the need to defend his intelligence. Yes, he got lost but it’s not like there’s a floor plan anywhere! “At the very least, the Psychology Department has adopted that as a use. Having a hard time navigating, white mouse?”

Bai Yutong glares. So Professor Zhan might be hot as hell, but he’s also an asshole. Noted. “I don’t see a need to have so many useless doors. Why does anyone even join the psychology department?” Besides, apparently, criminally hot but assholish professors.

“Because the human mind is endlessly fascinating.” Zhan Yao said mildly, easily navigating the same stairwell Bai Yutong had tried earlier. “Who wouldn’t want to peel back its layers and discover its mysteries? Who doesn’t want to know why people do the things they do or even if you can stop people from doing stupid things? Psychology is a doorway to understanding and only the truly brave dare try it.”

Obviously, Professor Zhan loves his job. Good for him. Bai Yutong rolls his eyes though because he thinks it’s more likely that people take psychology to oogle Professor Zhan and Bai wouldn’t blame them at all. “I think I’ll stick to being a cop, thanks.” He says, only because it seems rude to not respond at all.

Professor Zhan sighs. “And you don’t think there’s any intersection between the police and psychology at all?"

Bai Yutong is saved from answering by Professor Zhan staring at an office window for a bit, then walking over and knocking on the door. The name plate completely lacks a number, but it does say Professor Zhan Yao, Psychology which certainly implies this is Professor Zhan’s office, but then why the knocking? Perhaps, like everything else in this damn building, labels are arbitrary. 

The door opens and Bai Yutong has to blink. It’s Ye Zun, again.

“You beat us here?” Bai asks in surprise. And Ye Zun had managed to change between leaving them and getting here. Gone was the bleached white jean jacket and floral neckwrap, instead he was wearing a blue with white pinstriped suit, dark blue tie pinned in place with an accent of gold. And he’s gained glasses that made him look rather like a startled deer. He also happens to be holding Da Qing. “And you’ve found my cat.”

“I think,” Ye Zun says delicately, “you’ve mistaken me for my twin. I’m Shen Wei. You’re Zhao Yunlan’s Bai?”

Awkward. Bai Yutong glanced at Zhan Yao, who seemed bemused as he enters his own office. “I resent being called Zhao Yunlan’s anything, but I’m Bai Yutong, yes.”

“They’re police, didi.” Zhan Yao informs Shen Wei, even though his brother should already know that, and starts fussing over the few papers on his desk while glaring at Zhao Yunlan who was lounging on the seats in his office, sucking on a lollipop, and staring at Shen Wei’s ass. Zhuyin doesn’t usually bother goading the police on, but if Officer Zhao doesn’t look away from Zhan Yao’s little brother’s ass soon, he will not be held responsible for the officer’s murder.

“Oh!” Shen Wei exclaims, stepping backwards to let Bai Yutong into the office. He steps in but doesn’t sit, just awkwardly stands there. Zhan Yao even gestures to the free seat, but Bai Yutong just shakes his head and it’s not like Zhan Yao cares about the stupid mouse at all.

“We should be leaving soon,” Bai Yutong explains, “we’re actually here to talk to Tang Zhi Construction.”

“They’re working in the biology building.” Shen Wei informs them, idly petting a cat that Zhan Yao knows is a Yashou. “Renovations to the labs, finally. They’ve needed them for quite a while.”

“Ah, Professor Shen, you didn’t mention your third brother was a twin!” Zhao Yunlan pipes up from his frankly indecent sprawl, popping the lollipop out from between his lips and is Shen Wei actually focusing on that? Zhan Yao will not let his baby brother be seduced by this leech of a police officer. “And you seem to know a lot about the renovations! Could it be you’re a biology professor?”

“Yes,” Shen Wei answers, ducking his head a bit, “I teach seniors and graduate biology with a focus in genetic decoding.”

Zhao Yunlan practically bounces up from the seat. “Then you can help us leave. Unless your brother needs you to babysit his office?” Zhao Yunlan looks between Zhan Yao and Shen Wei, fishing for an excuse to rescue his baby brother but Shen Wei’s answer comes too fast.

“I’d be happy to guide you back out. Besides, it seems Da Qing is quite content to stay with me for now.” And Zhan Yao doesn’t bother to hide his scowl at that. Shen Wei gives him an earnest look and Zhan Yao really can’t say no to that look, but if Officer Zhao tries absolutely anything funny…

“Behave, Zhao Yunlan.” Bai Yutong mutters just loud enough for Zhan Yao to hear. And he’d never thought he’d feel kinship with a police officer of all things, but here he is.

“I always behave!” Zhao Yunlan complains, plastering himself to Bai Yutong’s side. He just sighs, but doesn’t bother to push Zhao Yunlan off, knowing it’s a lost cause. Zhao Yunlan doesn’t stay long, even, removing himself from Bai Yutong to stand next to Professor Shen. He was pretending it was to pet Da Qing, but Da Qing and Bai Yutong both knew the real reason: Zhao Yunlan moves fast and he’s apparently decided this adorable professor was his next conquest.

Bai Yutong knows it’s up to him to cover for all the courtesy that Zhao Yunlan doesn’t bother with. He gives a shallow bow to each of the professors. “Thank you for agreeing to guide us, Professor Shen, and it was nice meeting you, Professor Zhan.” Professor Zhan looks away from glaring at Zhao Yunlan to incline his head back. With that taken care of, Bai Yutong is ready to go. The faster he gets Zhao Yunlan away from Professor Shen, the better it will be for everyone else.

They don’t even have a foot outside of Zhan Yao’s office before Zhao Yunlan starts pestering Professor Shen for personal details and Bai Yutong has to step in. There is a right time to say, “A man as handsome as you must have a girlfriend, Professor Shen.” and on police time is _not_ the right time to say it. 

They make it to the genetics building without incident and Da Qing finally dismounts from his perch in Professor Shen’s arms, which means Bai can make excuses to drag Zhao Yunlan away from the poor professor.

Bai Yutong took one look at Zhao Yunlan’s starry eyed look and sighs. “The first time you make a joke about ‘unzipping his genes,’” Bai Yutong says the pick-up line in English, well acquainted with Zhao Yunlan’s flirting habits, “I will kill you and they will never find the body.”

Zhao Yunlan laughs, jostling Bai with his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I would never be so uncouth.”

It would be so easy to poison Zhao Yunlan’s food...he probably wouldn’t notice. Bai Yutong could finally have peace. Zhao Yunlan seemed to know exactly what Bai was thinking and practically fled from his fellow officer and Bai shared a commiserating look with Da Qing before joining him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> Gege: Elder brother  
> Didi: Younger brother  
> Baba: Modern version of father. Used to refer to Zhao Jue.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me about anything [here](https://kakushigo.tumblr.com)! (Drop a prompt in the askbox & I might even write it XD)
> 
> Note on the Chinese used:  
> Lao Chu- Old Chu  
> Diedie- A more old fashion way to say father. Used to refer to Zhan Qitian  
> Baba- A more modern version of father. Used to refer Zhao Jue
> 
> Now, granted, I don't speak Mandarin so I'm just trying my best. If you happen to know better, hit me up.


End file.
